Winners Announced

Pin It I feel silly saying that I am 'announcing' winners when anyone who can count can go to the Backroads contest posting and count the amount of comments there. However, for those either too lazy to go and count, or who can't count that high, the two winners are Gerb and Summer.

To tell you the truth, I am interested to find out the print each of them select. When I contacted them, they both said they'd have to think it over...

Will you do it?

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Will you take the challenge?

Every year I challenge my class. I challenge them to turn off their TVs sets, video games, and all gaming systems along with abstaining from attending movies. In the place of these things I challenge them to spend more time with their families, playing outside, reading, writing, and enjoying the company of their friends.

We call this the “Turn off the TV and Get a Life” challenge—an idea I picked up a few years ago from John Bytheway. This will be the 8th year of my class taking this challenge, and I’d like to know if you’d take part in it with us.

Could you do it?

I will be honest…there are a few day when I come home from school, beaten and tired and want nothing more than the brainless eye-candy of the tube, but for this week, no matter how badly I want to watch a program, I won’t.

Those students who are successful with this endeavor will celebrate their accomplishment on Tuesday, November 25th with a pajama day and afternoon party. What IS the party? Well, I call it, “Saturday Morning Cartoons.”

Remember the days before cable television when one of the only times cartoons were even on was Saturday morning? Remember getting up at the crack of dawn so you didn’t miss a single one?

So do I.

The kids, like I said before, are permitted to wear pajamas, bring pillows and blankets, and are to bring their favorite box of cereal to share.

If you are successful, you are more than welcome to join my class and me in our celebration. Whether it be with us physically in our classroom—or from afar in spirit.

So, will you do it?

Choose Your Own Adventure…but please choose wisely.

Pin It Every month on my class website, I have what I call the thought of the month. I usually try to write this for my students and have it relate to something they can understand and with which they are familiar.

My class currently has discovered the love I once shared for a series of books which gave me the power to decide what would happen. I share the 'thought of the month' with you now...

When I was in sixth grade I discovered a set of fantastic books…in fact, I can still remember standing at the school library trying to get my hands on one, any one. Often, there were very few copies available because they were so much fun to read. You probably know what books I’m talking about…it’s the “Choose Your Own Adventure books.” Many of those from my generation have fond memories of these wonderful stories that didn’t simply take you on a journey of a character, but allowed you to be a part of the story and make many choices along the way.

I recall a short note in the beginning of each book that said something like this: “Warning, do not read this book straight through from beginning to end, when you are offered a choice, choose which one you would like to make….the outcome of the story depends a lot on the choices you make.”

Some of those choices were presented like this: “If you choose to travel up the stairs, turn to page 20. If you would rather walk down the hallway, turn to page 63.” I remember that every now and then when I made a choice I was led to a page where there would be an illustration that helped me to predict what was going to happen before I even read the text …you know, that I died or that I didn’t find the treasure in the old house. I had friends during this time which would sometimes offer me advice, since many of these kids had read the book before me, they could tell me the good choices to make in the story. Often, when I would follow their advice, I did much better in the story and would usually avoid breaking my leg or dying.

As I’ve gotten older, I have come to realize that our lives are an awful lot like those books I loved growing up…like these stories, it is the choices we make each day that bring about the consequences of our actions; additionally it is our choices which help to decide just what choices will be offered to us in the future as well. The really scary thing is that the “Choose Your Own Adventure book,” the one you are currently “living,” even as you sit here reading these words, doesn’t have only one choice every few pages, but several choices—hundreds of choices each day and these choices determine where our lives—where our story will lead. We decide the ending by the decisions we make…not only this, but it is each of us who determine just who and what we will become by these choices.

Sound a little scary thinking of life this way? Well, it shouldn’t be because life has friends, just like the ones I’d had when I was growing up. These friends have already read a little farther in the stories and know what many of the outcomes are…do you know who these people are? Yep, you got it…the adults in your life like your parents and teachers. “Whoa there!” I can almost hear you say, “You mean to tell me that the adults around me know something?” This may be hard to believe, but they really do!

Though you may not believe it now, your parents have experienced many of the same things that you have and are a little farther along in their Choose Your Own Adventure book; they have a lot of good advice to give you and are there to help you make those choices but only if you listen. However, how often do you choose to listen to the adults in your life? I mean really listen? Often, it all goes in one ear and out the other…sounding an awful lot like all the adults in the Charlie Brown cartoons…”Wah wah wa wah wah wah waaaahhhh.”

A few years ago I came across a really big choice in my own Choose Your Own Adventure story, one which I wasn’t sure what choice to make. This was a time that I turned to my dad. I asked him what I should do and I then listened to the advice he gave. Now, I don’t know what would have happened had I not followed his advice, but I do know what happened because I did. I am glad that I chose to listen to the wisdom of someone who has lived a little longer than me, who cares about what happens in my life, and is doing everything he can to ensure that my “story” is a little bit easier than his was.

One of the saddest things I encounter as a teacher is when I have a student who is making choices which are inevitably going to lead them into a harder life, I try to help these students understand this and many times they still don’t listen. It is frustrating to sit on the sidelines and try to coach a player who won’t try to run any of the plays but insists on standing out on the field doing nothing while the rest of the team moves all around him.

Now, what options have been opened up before you in your own story? What choices are offered to you each day? Do they include choosing to use kind or mean words to a family member? Is it between finishing your homework and playing video games? Perhaps it is between finishing your chores and running outside to play with your friends. The point is, we all are faced with a many choices each day, and things competing for our time and attention.

I do wish to point out though, that as you choose your adventures, remember that we are all works in progress, we’re all in different chapters of development and none of us is perfect. I have a feeling that some of us look at ourselves and see nothing but hard slabs of stone. We think we’re worthless perhaps because of a few poor choices we’ve made or letting others’ words affect how we see ourselves. When these thoughts come to you remember this story about Michelangelo: One day he was asked how he was able to sculpt and create such beautiful pieces of art with only blank slab of marble. To this question he replied, “I saw an angel in the stone and carved to set it free.”

Never forget, you are taking part in a story where you are the star with many possible endings, make the choices that will make you a better person as you turn the pages. Choose the options that will open up a limitless amount of new choices, not those which only lead to dead-ends. As the Choose Your Own Adventure books often say, “These pages contain many different adventures that may befall you…as you read along, you will be able to make choices, and the adventures you will have will be the results of those choices. Think carefully before you make a choice…”

Free Photo Book?

Pin It Okay, I swiped this from another blog and unfortunately I can’t find whose it was (Firefox issues after latest update). However, this is a great opportunity to get a free book of your photos by only paying the shipping.

I signed up for it and so did my friend, Gerb.

You should do it too.

There’s nothing more cool than free stuff—well, free stuff that’s really cool, that is.

Oprah will tell you all about it HERE.

By the way, the signup deadline is tomorrow and the deadline for creating the book is on Sunday.

Freeman, Washington photoshoot

Pin It I do not wish for this to become solely a blog for photography, however, a picture can speak what words cannot express. So, please forgive this onslaught of pictorial lexis.

In explanation of what is to follow…while I was in Washington, my little sister and I discovered this old barn which was very close to the original site of the homestead I took a photo of with my grandfather’s old 35mm camera. On my photography site the image is titled “Nobody Home” which, I’m sad to say, was torn down only a year or so after I snapped the image of it.

My sister was more than willing to let me stop and take a few photos when I suddenly realized that it would probably be a much better photo set with a model in the photos. My sister was there, and I thought to myself, “Hmmm…Lucie would be a great piece of ‘eye candy’ to add to the rustic look of the landscape.

Lucky for me that I have such good-looking family members.

The 5-minute photo shoot

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While on my Washington visit, I stopped in to visit my longtime friend, Missy. I couldn’t believe just how big she and Dave’s boys had gotten over the past year. I wanted to do a photo shoot for them, however, with the extra time I spent with my family, it only allotted about five minutes out in the drizzling rain.

The boys were ready in the space of a few minutes and we were outside in the cold, horrid weather; the whole while avoiding piles of ‘doggy treasures’ scattered around the backyard. I was determined to make the best of it and get a few shots which were worthy.

These are a few of my favorites.

Thanks, Missy.

I’ll do it again for real next year when I come back.

Unless, of course, I’ve died. In the event of this, don’t ask.

As you sleep

Pin It It was quiet in the house this morning.

I wanted to be sure you were okay.

I walked in and watched you sleeping.

I thought of how you used to watch me when I was little.

Time has changed, hasn’t it?

Life is steadily moving onward and the roles will one day reverse.

I will take care of you, as you once took care of me.

Some days it will be hard, others will be easy.

We’ll both be learning to adjust…

Until you’re ready to go to leave my home for your new life.